Directed by Peter Chelsom, (“Hector and the Search for Happiness”) “The Space Between Us” explores the relationship between two young lovers in an out of this world situation. Not your average long distance relationship, the film explores the bond between a boy born on Mars and the girl of his dreams, who lives on Earth. Though one thing that usually doesn’t come from exploration is the euphoria of romance, “The Space Between Us” tries to launch itself into a new frontier, though it gets only some things right.
“The Space Between Us” is a science fiction, romantic drama film that is somewhat different from the average teenage chick-flicks that have been made in recent years such as “Twilight” or even “High School Musical”.
For Gardner Elliot, played by Asa Butterfield (Hugo), everything is as ordinary as things can get for a 16 year old who lives on Mars. When not fixing his makeshift robot, Gardner spends his days talking to Tusla, taken on by Britt Robertson (Ask Me Anything), who lives in Colorado. The day comes for Gardener to go to Earth, and with the help of top NASA advisor Nathaniel Shepherd, portrayed by Gary Oldman (Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy), he soon realizes Gardner only has a certain amount of time left, as the gravity is killing him. With this news, Gardner and Tulsa embark on a journey to see what Earth has to offer before time runs out for him.
The plot of this film is okay at best, as it takes the saying “The Space Between Us” and gives the idea a really interesting take, but when put together has a lackluster story and only somewhat likable characters. The tone of the film is more romantic than science fiction, though it does a weird job of distinguishing itself. “The Space Between Us” takes two abundant genres and mashes them together, which makes for a movie that is a rare screen commodity that works at times and at others falls flat on its face. The film has disgusting CGI effects and a weird plot that tries to fit in too much at once, though the ending surprises and makes up for some of the bumps along the way. However, it doesn’t leave an emotional impact big enough to make up for a script that is rather bleak at times.
The performances are not so great, as most of the actors seem somewhat out of tune with what is going on—though differently can be said about Gary Oldman’s portrayal of a genuinely hard working scientist. While playing Nathaniel Shepherd, Oldman does a great job of evoking emotion and empathy within his character. He is seen devastated and at times almost erratic and relentless to get what he needs. He is disliked by most and then given quite a mysterious role, which at the end comes with a twist that will shock viewers.
Though the film may not have as much of an emotional impact as intended, with its decent acting and mediocre writing, “The Space Between Us” is a somewhat overlooked spectacle, which should be given a watch. It does an innovative job at trying to differentiate itself from other works and, despite some black holes in its content, there are still some positives to be discovered.
B-
